One of my favorite things to visit while traveling in clear weather is a good city park. Here, locals are more relaxed, sunbathing or playing lawn games with their friends, and it helps me to relax, too. While site seeing in a city can be draining, a green park with soft grass offers a much needed refuge to recharge my day. While living in Hamburg for a few months, I had an opportunity to visit many city parks. While each neighborhood has their own little parks, I’ll just be addressing the larger ones that I visited, worth going out of your way for.

Planten un Blumen

One of the most accessible parks in Hamburg is also one of the most fun. While many places would charge an admittance fee for gardens like these, Planten un Blumen is public! 

From rose gardens, to a Japanese tea house, it’s fun to stroll around. 

Stick around late enough, and you’ll get a fountain light show! (9 or 10 PM daily depending on time of year)

Alster Park

I had the privilege of living only two blocks from this park bordering the outer Alster, where runners and strollers enjoy the water view with lots of fun sculptures. 

This is easily accessible via an Alster boat cruise, which you can start at the city center (Jungfernstieg), and float by sailboats, standup paddle boards, and beautiful homes. Make sure to go far enough to go through some of Hamburg’s many canals.

Stadt Park

This park is the ultimate place to meet your friends for lawn games or picnics. 

While the green space is massive, you could also spend hours wandering along paths admiring the many fountains, statues, and flowers. 

It’s also connected to a swimming lake if you want to take a dip!

Ohlsdorf Cemetery

I included this cemetery because it feels more like a park, with vast areas without a tombstone in sight. Turn a corner, and you get a separate private nook to visit your loved one in peace.  

Plus, you can enjoy the beautiful above ground stones and memorials. If your feet get tired and you don’t have a bike, hop on a bus!

Öjendorfer Park/See

This one takes more effort to get to, but if you are looking for a lake, this one is gorgeous. There are beaches for swimming, or you can walk all the way around for pretty views from each angle. 

There is a miniature golf course, but it leaves much to be desired.

Altona Volkspark

Here is your opportunity to feel more like you are hiking though trails in the woods. 

But the park is not only wooded areas. Just like all parks here, there are vast green spaces for throwing a frisbee, a cemetery attached, and ice cream stands.

The stadium for one of the main Hamburg soccer teams is here, as well as a race track for horse carts. There is also a beautiful Dahlia garden, with thousands of dahlia varietals. 

No matter which city you are traveling to, parks are a great way to get some fresh air and kick off your shoes, if only for a few moments. Next time you find yourself in Hamburg, take some time to visit at least one of the parks on this list.